Sandra Jean Stephens, 81, of Chicago, Illinois, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2026, surrounded by her loving family after a courageous battle with cancer. Born in 1945 in Greenwood, Wisconsin, to Robert and Theresa Hastreiter, Sandy grew up in a close-knit family with three sisters and one brother. She cherished her rural Wisconsin roots and loved sharing stories of her childhood in Woodruff, WI, a summer destination for Midwestern city residents. Sandy was a cherished member of the Beverly/Morgan Park community and a devoted parishioner of St. Cajetan Church for more than 55 years. She met her husband, Dan Stephens of Chicago's South Side, in Milwaukee, while she studied home economics at the Patricia Stevens Career College and he was a student at the engineering school. They shared 43 years of marriage before his passing in 2009. Together they raised their two sons, Mike and Mark. During those years, Sandy balanced family life with a career in retail, working in the 1970s at Lyton's and later at The Paper Place. In the 1980s, she served as a travel assistant at Midway Airlines at Chicago Midway International Airport. She later followed her lifelong passion for home design and interior decorating, working at Calico Corners until her retirement ten years ago. Sandy remained involved in her community—volunteering at a local resale shop and participating in charity walk/run fundraisers supporting breast cancer research in honor of friends. In addition to her love of interior decorating, she enjoyed gardening, traveling with friends and family, and exercise, furthering her experience in these subjects by taking classes at the local community college. She will be deeply missed by her sons, Mark (Robyn) Stephens of Tinley Park, Illinois, and Mike (Pam) Stephens of Bel Air, Maryland; and by her four adored grandchildren, Jason, Hannah, Jacob, and Ryan. Sandy will be remembered for her gracious spirit, her eye for beauty, and the love she shared with family and friends.

Visitation Thursday, March 12, 2025 from 3:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Funeral Friday, March 13th, beginning with Chapel Prayers at 10:00 A.M. from the Becvar & Son Funeral Home, 5539 W. 127th Street, Crestwood, to St. Cajetan Catholic Church,  2445 W. 112th Street, Chicago, for an 11:00 A.M. Mass.  Interment St. Casimir Cemetery.  For more info: www.becvarfuneralhome.com or (708) 824-9000